Forum:Double banking
(Discussion moved from User talk:70s Fan) By the way, on the talk page for Episode 1564 (12th January 1976) you brought to our attention the use of double-banking of recording of episodes. We've since identified the following instances: *Eps 765 - 768 (1968) *Eps 825 - 828 (1968) *Eps 1066 - 1069 (1971) *Eps 1102 - 1105) (1971) *Eps 1564 - 1567 (1976) *Eps 1590 - 1593 (1976) *Eps 1776 - 1779 (1978) *Eps 2270 - 2273 (1983) *Eps 2590 - 2593 (1986) *Eps 2696 - 2699 (1987) At the moment, I can't find anything in years such as 1979 or 1980 to show double-banking taking place though more in-depth investigation is required. If you could spot any instances from these years or any others, I would be grateful: you have the same information to hand as we do! It's just a matter of plodding through the episode pages and comparing casts and/or places. I think that for instances prior to 1978, they did double-banking because they wanted to move away from the programme recording being too close to transmission - for most of the 1960s, studio recording took place the week before transmission and it was only transmission strikes that gave the programme the leeway to make episodes like Episode 700 (30th August 1967). I do wonder if the first instance quoted above was a reading of the unions and their growing threats in the summer of 1968 over the ITV franchise changes? I suspect the 1976 instances are due to the fact that the 1975 ITV Strike again meant episodes from late in that year were again being recorded the week before transmission and therefore too close for comfort for everyone. The mysterious loss of Episode 1549 doesn't seem to have helped matters. Thinking aloud, I wonder if the production of Annie and Betty's Coronation Street Memories was to give the programme a bit of a breathing space as well?--Jtomlin1uk (talk) 15:58, October 6, 2014 (UTC) John,I actually remember taking a note of those eps during the Granada Plus repeats. I'll have to try to locate it! I'm pretty sure there was at least one incidence every year. A lot of them are in January- to accomodate a week's break in production over Christmas,I presume(I think I've also noticed it in the first couple of week's in 1974 and '75)-although,off the top of my head,I think it may have been in February in 1979 and 1980. I also seem to recall one around October-November 1980. I'll have a look to see if I can find my notes,before doing any in depth look on the site. I'm pretty tied up until the middle of next week,but I'll try to confirm them for you then,if that's okay. Incidentally,I don't know if you ever read my comments on the Talk Page of ep.1587,but I have a theory that that week's could have been double banked with an earlier pair of eps. It's only speculation,but I've listed a few reasons why I think it could be the case. Nothing that we could verify,but a possiblity,70s Fan (talk) 17:16, October 6, 2014 (UTC)imo. :That's a very interesting theory on 1587 etc. There's a lot to it.--Jtomlin1uk (talk) 18:06, October 6, 2014 (UTC) ::Ah, I see what you mean about the early 1975 one - 1456-1459. We don't have all of the places yet but the cast is evenly split.--Jtomlin1uk (talk) 19:20, October 6, 2014 (UTC) :::We're on a roll! Also 1354 to 1357.--Jtomlin1uk (talk) 19:24, October 6, 2014 (UTC) ::::And 1250 to 1253. It would appear (and make sense) that they have almost the entire regular cast spread over the four eps and then have the Xmas week off (and party to follow?!)--Jtomlin1uk (talk) 19:27, October 6, 2014 (UTC) ::::As per my previous post,I've had a look through the notes I made on double banking during the Granada Plus repeat run. The ones I've located refer to the 1977-84 period. They're not all as obvious as some of the ones we've previously identified and might not have been spotted by just looking at the cast and sets info.as you will see. But,while I was watching them at the time they seemed to be almost certainly cases of double banking. Before I list them,I should point out that in all but one example the Rovers is in use on both weeks. I think this may have been a stumbling block for you in trying to identify other examples,but my theory is that it was possible to use it for both pairs of episodes after 1976 when the method of recording changed. After this date,I believe they were recording the scenes individually,rather than the episode in continuous order. So,I think it's probable,that one of the casts would have been able to record all their scenes for the Rovers either before the other cast started or after they were finished in the studio. ::::Anyway,I'll list the episodes and make note of any other significant points. ::::1666-69 (1977). The only character to appear in both weeks is Ray Langton,but he only appears in 1667 from the first week,and if memory serves he just makes a brief appearance at the end of that ep,before appearing in 1668 and 1669. ::::1778-1781(1978)- You listed 1776-79,but I presume that was a mistake. This is the only case where the Rovers doesn't feature in both weeks. ::::1875-1878(1979). Elsie only appear in 1876 from the first week,while Gail features in both weeks. Apart from that,the casts and sets( excluding the Rovers) are all different. ::::1966-1969(1980)- As you've noted in the credits,Annie's voice is heard,but she is not seen in 1966 and does not feature in 1967. Ken and Deirdre are the only other characters to feature in both weeks,while again all the sets-bar the Rovers-are different. ::::2038-2041(1980)- Gail is the only character to feature in both weeks-and in only 2039 from the first week. From memory she only appears in one scene in that ep. Also,this is the only example I could find of two lots of double banking in the one year since 1976. ::::2062-2065(1981)- Of the cast,only Bert,Ivy and Brian appear in all the episodes- and, as you note,Brian is actually uncredited in 2065. Gail only appears in 2064 from the second week. ::::2166-2169(1982)- Betty only appears in 2167 from the first week. Apart from that all the cast is different for both weeks. ::::2374-2377(1984) This is the most debatable of all my examples,but having seen it at the time I seem to have considered it passed the test. The main reasons why it looks arguable is that apart from the Rovers,it's the only time where a set has featured in both weeks. No.13- although it only features in 2375. Fred Gee only appears in 2375,but Bet,Stan and Hilda feature in all four episodes. It may be worth giving those 4 eps a look to see how heavily those characters feature. Significantly,though,it's the only week of that year that I seem to have been able to identify sufficient evidence of double banking. ::::I'll be interested to hear what you think. As I've noted only the 81 and 84 eps have any significant cast overlap. You might want to check those eps out,although I seem to have felt -on watching them- that they were double banked. and they do come at the right time of the year. Anyway,hope all this may be of some use to you. I'll let you know if I find any other examples from the 1985-89 period.70s Fan (talk) 16:29, October 17, 2014 (UTC) Brilliant stuff! Thank you very much.--Jtomlin1uk (talk) 16:57, October 19, 2014 (UTC)